ABSTRACT
Advances in methodological approach, equipment, as well as the social needs dictate, in most of the cases, the direction in which research is focused. The field of fermented fruits and vegetables has been no exception from the very first studies in the beginning of the 20th century that were conducted with minimal use of equipment and mostly based on observation and description, to the very latest use of high-throughput technologies that is far more equipment-dependent. Nowadays, research on fermented fruits and vegetables seems to be tailored to consumer demands as well as to the research advances in the field of molecular biology. Consumer trends are the epicenter of intensive study since the last decade. Safety and health have been recognized among the food attributes that direct consumer behavior (Brewer and Rojas 2008, Feldmann and Hamm 2015). On the other hand, widespread use of modern molecular techniques has allowed in-depth characterization of a large number of traditional products. All these establish the fact that the fields in which intensive study is expected to take place in the following years are microecosystem characterization and nutritional value assessment of fermented fruits and vegetables.
